Blog: One Member's Angry Outburst Isn't the Last Word

At a staff meeting a few months ago, we spent several minutes reading the positive feedback we had received in many of our new member surveys. We enjoyed sharing the comments about our "wonderful" staff, "friendly" environment and the impact we were having on people's lives. We wanted to remind our staff that while we spend a lot of time and energy dealing with problems - both real and perceived - the reality is that we have a pretty nice business with pretty nice members who appreciate what we do. Sometimes, we're even lucky enough to have someone remind us.

Last week started with a member cursing in our lobby. He was irrationally angry about an aquatics fitness class that interfered with his morning swim. With kids nearby, he used inappropriate words to describe our older members who were taking the class. One of our most experienced staff members, Paul, handled the situation well. Paul aggressively calmed the member down, took him aside and emphasized that such behavior and language were inappropriate. Paul showed the member our monthly pool calendar, which we created based on member feedback. When none of that helped and the member kept carrying on, Paul resisted the urge to both a) revoke his membership (which we would have supported) and b) pummel him.

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